Vadodara, February 5: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has secured the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title for the second time. The team triumphed over Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets at the BCA Stadium on Thursday.
Previously, RCB had claimed the WPL 2023/24 title. The first and third seasons were won by Mumbai Indians (MI). Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals missed their chance to win the trophy, reaching the finals for the fourth consecutive time.
In Thursday’s match, after losing the toss, Delhi Capitals batted first and scored 203 runs, losing four wickets. The opening pair of Shafali Verma and Lizelle Lee provided a strong start, putting together a partnership of 49 runs in just 5.5 overs.
Shafali was dismissed for 20 runs, while Lizelle contributed 37 runs to the total. The Capitals lost both openers by the time they reached a score of 72.
Jemimah Rodrigues then partnered with Laura Wolvaardt to add 76 runs for the second wicket, putting the team in a solid position. Jemimah scored 57 runs off 37 balls, hitting eight fours, before getting out. Chinelle Henry (not out 35) and Wolvaardt (44) added 54 runs for the fourth wicket, helping the team surpass the 200-run mark. From the opposition, Sayali Satghare, Arundhati Reddy, and Nadine de Klerk each took one wicket.
In response, RCB achieved victory in 19.4 overs. The team lost Grace Harris (9) early, at a score of 9. Captain Smriti Mandhana then formed a crucial partnership with Georgia Voll, adding 165 runs for the second wicket off 92 balls, bringing RCB firmly into the match.
RCB lost Georgia Voll at a score of 174; she scored 79 runs off 54 balls, hitting 14 fours. In the next two overs, RCB lost Richa Ghosh (6) and captain Mandhana, who scored 87 runs off 41 balls, including three sixes and 12 fours.
The match became thrilling at this point, but Radha Yadav sealed the victory with 12 runs off five balls, including two fours. For the Capitals, Chinelle Henry took the most wickets, claiming two, while Nandini Sharma and Minnu Mani took one wicket each.